Lycée Français de New York vs United Nations International School
🇺🇸 New York · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither Lycée Français de New York nor United Nations International School sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. Curriculum is the core differentiator: Lycée Français de New York offers National, American, Blended while United Nations International School offers IB — the choice should follow the family's target qualification system. Both are day schools with fees in the same market band — see the table below for the figures, and verify against each school's own published fees.
Key Facts
| Lycée Français de New York | United Nations International School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | National / American / Blended | IB |
| Ages | 3–18 | 4–18 |
| Languages of instruction | French, English | English |
| Annual fees | USD 51,925 | USD 46,856–52,167 |
| Enrollment | 1,200 | 1,450 |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | NYSAIS, French Ministry of Education, AEFE | CIS, NYSAIS |
Strengths
- ✓Long-established institution (founded 1935; first baccalaureate 1938) — one of the oldest French-American schools in the US
- ✓Genuine dual-diploma pathway: the American High School Diploma AND the French Baccalauréat (BFI/international option referenced)
- ✓NYSAIS-accredited and recognized by the French Ministry of Education, within the AEFE network
- ✓Full continuous pathway from Nursery-3 (age 3) through Grade 12 (age 18) on a single purpose-built campus
- ✓Authentic French–English bilingual, bicultural model rather than a token language track
- ✓Founding IB school (one of the IB's pilot schools) and among the first to award IB diplomas — deep, credible IB pedigree
- ✓Exceptionally international community: roughly 97–109 nationalities among students and 86–91 mother-tongue languages
- ✓CIS accreditation plus NYSAIS membership and long institutional history (since 1947)
- ✓Strong multilingual programme — every student studies French or Spanish from the early years, adding a third language from Grade 7; nine languages offered
- ✓Single continuous PreK–12 pathway (ages ~4–18) on one Manhattan campus culminating in the IB Diploma
Trade-offs
- !Publishes no baccalaureate pass rates, distinction rates or university-destination data — academic outcomes cannot be independently verified
- !No graded external inspection exists (US has no public inspectorate), so quality rests on accreditation membership plus self-description
- !Enrollment is inconsistent across sources (official 'over 1,200' vs Wikipedia 'over 1,350')
- !EAL/English- and French-language support for non-native speakers is not documented on public pages — a barrier for older non-French-speaking entrants
- !Premium fees ($51,925 for 2026-27) plus one-time and ancillary charges; day school only (no boarding)
- !Does NOT publish IB Diploma average scores or a verified university-destination list — academic outcomes cannot be independently verified
- !Enrollment figures are inconsistent across the school's own pages (cited variously as ~1,427, ~1,450, ~1,454 and ~1,545), so no single precise number is reliable
- !Only the IB Diploma Programme is evidenced — no PYP or MYP authorization is stated, despite a continuous PreK–12 structure
- !EAL/English-language-support provision is not described on public pages and cannot be confirmed
- !The former Queens (Jamaica Estates) K–8 campus closed in 2022, so the school now serves one Manhattan location only
Best Fit For
- • Francophone or French-heritage families in New York wanting a continuous French-curriculum, baccalaureate pathway
- • Families seeking authentic French–English bilingual, bicultural education from age 3
- • Households targeting both American university admission and the French Baccalauréat via a dual diploma
- • Internationally mobile families valuing the AEFE network and portability of the French system
- • UN-affiliated and diplomatic families relocating to New York (who receive admissions priority)
- • Internationally mobile, multilingual families wanting a genuinely global IB community
- • Families seeking a continuous PreK–12 IB pathway culminating in the IB Diploma (including bilingual diplomas)
- • Households prioritising a strong second/third-language programme from the early years
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
Not public. No baccalaureate pass/distinction rates or university-destination lists were found on the school's public site (consistent with the norm among independent US day schools). Any placement claims should be treated as school-reported, unverified.
School-reported, unverified: per third-party summary, nearly all graduates attend four-year colleges, with roughly 75%–85% enrolling at universities in the United States and the remainder at universities in about 13 other countries. UNIS does not publish an IB Diploma average score or a specific university-destination list on its own pages; treat placement claims as school-reported and unverified.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose Lycée Français de New York or United Nations International School?
Lycée Français de New York is best for: Francophone or French-heritage families in New York wanting a continuous French-curriculum, baccalaureate pathway. United Nations International School is best for: UN-affiliated and diplomatic families relocating to New York (who receive admissions priority). The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between Lycée Français de New York and United Nations International School?
Lycée Français de New York: USD 51,925. United Nations International School: USD 46,856–52,167. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do Lycée Français de New York and United Nations International School offer?
Lycée Français de New York: National, American, Blended. United Nations International School: IB.
Do Lycée Français de New York or United Nations International School offer boarding?
Lycée Français de New York: day school only. United Nations International School: day school only.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →